Annual Social Thinking Global Providers’ Conference
June 23, 2017
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Deductive Inferences
• Demigods are children who have one human parent
and one parent who is a Greek or Roman god. Percy’s
father is Neptune, the Greek god of the sea. His
mother is a human who works in New York. Percy is a
demigod.
• Percy is the son of Neptune, god of the sea. If he is
the son of the god of the sea, then he should be very
comfortable in the water, be able to hold his breath
under water for a long time, or breathe under water.
He won’t drown when the ship blows up.
Inductive Inferences
Who is Jason’s Father?
• First off, he survived a lightning strike; Zeus is the god of
lightning. I'll admit, that's a big chunk of fresh evidence!
People also think that because Zeus ruled the sky and
Jason can fly, that it means Jason has to belong to him. But
I don't remember any of Zeus‘ children having the power of
flight. Some believe that since Jason appears to be a main
character that he has to be a son of one of the Big Three.
Inductive InferencesWho is Jason’s Father?
• Aeolus is the God presiding over and keeping the winds. Well it
would explain Jason's ability to fly and his connection to the Anemoi
Thuellai (Venti in Roman). I think, though, that there is a better
choice.
• Boreus is the North Wind. This one is the most plausible to me.
Why, you ask? Well, first off in the myth "Jason and the Argonauts",
the title character ("our" Jason's namesake) lost his shoe. Remind
you of anything? Second off, there were some characters in that
myth that could fly. Guess who their daddy is? My last bit of
evidence: Being a child of the North Wind would definitely explain
why he knew who the Anemoi Thuellai were.
Classes of Inferences
• Anaphoric references: pronoun/noun-phrase that refers to previous text entity
• Bridging/relational: semantically or conceptually relating sentence to previous content
• Explanation-based/causal: explain what is read by a causal chain or network of previous events and states
• The warden scratched Mr. Sir. She
was furious with him.
• Making the connection between the
eating onions and not being bitten
by lizards
• Stanley befriending Zero, carrying
him up the mountain and saving his
life breaks the curse of Madam
Zaroni and brings the family good
luck. Snow, C. (2002). Reading for understanding: Toward an R & D program in reading comprehension. Rand Corporation.
Classes of Inferences
• Predictive: forecast what events will unfold
• Goal: infer intentions of agent
• Elaborative: properties and associations that cannot be explained by causal relationships
• Stanley will find Zero in the desert and they will run away from camp.
• The Warden is running the camp so she’ll have help finding a treasure.
• The Warden’s nail polish has rattlesnake venom in it. So when she scratches Mr. Sir, you must realize that the scratch will be more painful and harmful than an ordinary scratch
Annual Social Thinking Global Providers’ Conference
June 23, 2017
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Coding of inference comprehension
Type of inference error Question Example response
Odd inference: Unique or
unexpected given the story
premise or contained
excessive/irrelevant detail
Why was the dog
barking?
He was telling the truth
Because: minimal answer Because he did
Scope: response is along the right
lines, but either too specific or
vague
Why was the dog
barking?
Because someone
said “ow”
Lack of expressive ability:
answer is syntactically incomplete
or unintelligible
No response
Comprehension of CwLI and CwSLI• All CwLI
– Made significantly more literal comprehension errors or
failed to respond to inference questions than their SC
matched peers (didn’t understand the question).
• Suggests that CwLI cope less well with an IC task than
expected by their ability to comprehend isolated sentences
• CwSLI
– The CwSLI had significantly higher IC scores than CwPLI
– No significant differences between the types of
inferences that CwSLI and CwPLI made
Adams, C., Clarke, E., & Haynes, R. (2009). Inference and sentence comprehension in children with specific or pragmatic language impairments. International Journal of Communication Disorders, 44, 301-318.
Comprehension of CwPLI
• CwPLI
– CwPLI to perform more poorly on
developmentally more complex inference items
– Did not make significantly more odd or wrong
inferences than CwSLI
– Had significantly lower inferential scores than
their CA and SC matched groups.
Adams, C., Clarke, E., & Haynes, R. (2009). Inference and sentence
comprehension in children with specific or pragmatic language impairments.
International Journal of Communication Disorders, 44, 301-318.
7-12 year olds• TD children and children with ASD with normal vocabulary and
syntax performed similarly
– Both groups answered a few more literal questions correctly than
inferential questions
• Children with LI
– Answered same number of literal questions correctly as TD children
and children with ASD without LI
– Answered significantly fewer inferential question correctly than TD
children and ASD children without LI
• Child with ASD + LI
– Answered significantly fewer literal and inferential questions than
children with LILucas, R., & Norbury, C.F. (2015). Making inferences from text: It’s vocabulary that
matters. Journal of Speech, Language, & Hearing Research, 58, 1224-1232.
Comprehension of physical causality, intentionality,
and emotions by persons with ASD
• Difficulty with all types of inferences, but
– Best performance on physical causality
• Errors may be related to difficult integrating world knowledge
with context/situation
– More errors on intentionality/mental states
– Most errors on emotion states
Bodner, K.E., Engelhardt, C.R., Minshew, N.J., & Williams, D.L. (2015). Making inferences: Comprehension of physical causality, intentionality, and emotions in discourse by high-functioning older children, adolescents, and adults. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 45(9),
2721-2733.
Andy was only 2 years old. He was sitting on his mother’s lap when a big dog ran
up and licked him on the check. Andy’s eyes got really big, and he started to cry.
Annual Social Thinking Global Providers’ Conference
June 23, 2017
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Central Coherence vs Context Blindness
• Ability to derive overall meaning from a mass of
details
• A person with strong central coherence, looking at an
endless expanse of trees, would see “the forest.”
• A person with weak central coherence would see only
a whole lot of individual trees.
Inferences by 4-7 year olds (TD & ASD)
in narrative comprehension• It’s Susie’s birthday party tomorrow. Susie and her Mum go to the
supermarket to buy food for the party. Susie really hopes Mum buy her a
chocolate cake. They get a cake, some candy, and some chips. Then they
pay the cashier. Susie leaves the store smiling and feeling happy. And they
take the food home.
Nuske, H.J., & Bavin, E.L. (2011). Narrative comprehension in 4-7-year old children with autism: testing the weak central coherence account. International Journal of Language and Communication Disorder, 46, 108-119.
Question type Inference type Question Answer
Factual Where do they first go in
the story?
To the supermarket
Script Inductive Why did they give
money to the cashier?
To buy the food
Propositional deductive Why was Susie happy
when they left the store?
Her Mum bought a
chocolate cake.
Inferences by 4-7 year olds in narrative comprehension
• Children with ASD and typical children performed similarly
on factual and propositional questions
• Children with ASD performed less well on script inferences
than typically developing children
– Supports weak central coherence theory, i.e.,
problems integrating information to make script
inferences
– Propositional inferences require integrating
information within the text
Nuske, H.J., & Bavin, E.L. (2011). Narrative comprehension in 4-7-year old children with
autism: testing the weak central coherence account. International Journal of Language
and Communication Disorder, 46, 108-119.
What happens when you can’t retrieve the script
The procedure is quite simple. First you arrange items into different
groups. Of course one pile may be sufficient depending on how much
there is to do. If you have to go somewhere else due to lack of facilities
that is the next step; otherwise, you are pretty well set. It is important not
to overdo things. That is, it is better to do too few things at once than too
many. In the short run this may not seem important but complications can
easily arise. A mistake can be expensive as well. At first the whole
procedure will seem complicated. Soon, however, it will become just
another facet of life. It is difficult to foresee any end to the necessity for
this task in the immediate future, but then, one never can tell. After the
procedure is completed one arranges the materials into their appropriate
places. Eventually, they will be used once more and the whole cycle will
then have to be repeated. However, this is part of life.
Bransford, J.D., Johnson, M.K. (1972). Contextual perquisites for understanding: Some investigations of comprehension and recall. Journal of Verbal Learning & Verbal Behavior, 11, 717-726,
Category Induction in ASD
% of Group
Naigles, L.R., Kelley, E., Troy, E., & Fein, F. (2013). Residual difficulties with
categorical induction in children with a history of autism. J Autism Dev Disord.
43, 2048–2061.
TD Optimal HFA
Perfect 6/6 17.3 16.7 15.4
Almost perfect 5/6 52.2 27.8 23.1
Consistent 4/6 26.1 38.9 38.4
Moderate 3/6 4.3 16.7 15.4
Nonextender 0 0 7.7
Depth of Vocabulary and Inference Processing• Types of vocabulary measures
– Breadth of vocabulary: number of words known
– Depth of vocabulary: amount of knowledge about a word
• Particularly important to make inductive inferences
– Teacher, friends, play, learn, books, math --- school
– What was Martin Luther King’s main goal? (change the law)
(relational inference - integrate across text)
– Why had people made laws separating blacks and whites? (don’t
know) (causal inference – prior knowledge)
– What happened when people refused to ride the buses? (lost
money ?? They had to change the law) (causal inference – across
the text)
– Why was Washington, D.C. an important place to protest unjust
laws? (the president lives there) (causal inference – prior
knowledge)
Types of Answers to QRI Questions
• Failure to link ideas across a passage – making relational inferences
• Failure to make causal inferences
• Failure to parse syntax
• Excessive elaboration or overreliance on prior knowledge
• Failure to know a key vocabulary word
• No response – did not answer
Dewitz, P., & Dewitz, P.K. (2003). They can read the words, but they can’tunderstand: Refining comprehension assessment. The Reading Teacher,56:5, 422-435.
Common Core Standards Requiring Inferences
Common Core
Standard
Inference
Type
Narrative Text Questions
Determine what
the text says
explicitly
Text evidence Using details from the text, what do the
topics of Ms. Rylant’s books tell us about
how she felt about animal.
Determine the
theme of the text
Theme What is the theme of the story so far? What
details in the story support the theme you’ve
chosen?
Describe/analyze
how
Text analysis Explain how events in Cynthia’s childhood
Annual Social Thinking Global Providers’ Conference
June 23, 2017
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Think Aloud Statements
Indicating Comprehension
• Paraphrases or summarizes what the author has said
• Making new meaning: makes an inference, draws a conclusion, or engages in reasoning
• Questioning that indicates understanding: asks a question based on understanding the text, e.g., questioning the motivation of a character
Think Aloud Statements
Indicating Comprehension
• Noting understanding: student recognizes that she or he understands what was read.
• Reporting prior knowledge: student reports a match with what was previously known or indicates that prior knowledge was absent or in conflict with the text
• Identifying personally: relates the text to personal experiences, makes a judgment of some sort on the basis of personal experiences, states interest or lack of it, or indicates like or dislike for a topic.
Think Aloud Statements
Indicating Lack of Comprehension
• Questioning content: asks questions about
character motivation or the applications of a
concept that indicate lack of understanding. The
student also asks about the meaning of words or
concepts.
• Noting lack of understanding: clearly states that
she or he is confused about something.
Leslie, L., & Caldwell, J. (2017). Qualitative reading inventory-6. New York: Longman.
Factors common to those adept at inferring
• Being an active reader who wants to make
sense of text
• Competent working memory
• Monitoring comprehension
• Rich vocabulary
• Wide background knowledge
• Sharing same cultural background as that
assumed by text
What to do to Develop Inferring
• Activate prior knowledge/build knowledge
• Develop vocabulary/syntactic structures
• Develop theory of mind
• Teach questioning
• Teach summarizing
Metacognitive Processes
• Knowledge of the factors that influence one’s own performance
• Knowing different types of strategies to use
• Knowledge about why and when to use a given strategy.
Knowledge of Cognition
• Planning, monitoring, and regulating learning
• Evaluating one’s own regulation; assessing results and strategies used
Annual Social Thinking Global Providers’ Conference
June 23, 2017
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What’s more precious than rubies, more lasting than gold?
What can never be traded, stolen, or sold?
What comes with great effort and takes time, but then,
Once yours, will serve you again and again.
Raisel’s RiddleBuild Vocabulary Depth
• Identify important words in the passage
• Activate important facts about those words
• Reason about those facts, computing relationships
among the words
Hannon, B., & Daneman, M. (1998). Facilitating knowledge-based inferences
in less skilled readers. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 23, 142-172.
Expanding Expression ToolPenguin
What group does it belong to? Animal, bird
What does it do? What do you
do with it?
Swims, doesn’t fly, eat fish
What color, size, shape is it? Black and white, different sizes
What is it made of or come
from?
??
What are its parts? What parts
go with it?
Bill/beak, feathers, webbed feet
Where do you find it? Many live in Antarctica; some live in South
Africa, Australia, New Zealand; also zoos
Other knowledge about it Seals eat penguins; I’ve read stories
about Tacky the Penguin
Dan heard the door
open and wondered
who had arrived. He
couldn’t make out the
voices. Then he
recognized the
XXXXXX footsteps on
the stairs and knew it
was Aunt Grace.
Dan heard the door
open and wondered
who had arrived. He
couldn’t make out the
voices. Then he
recognized the
lumbering footsteps on
the stairs and knew it
was Aunt Grace.
Nondirective Vocabulary Context
General Vocabulary Context
Joe and Stan arrived at the party at 7 o’clock. By 9:30, the evening seemed to drag for Stan. But Joe really seemed to be having a good time at the party. “I wish I could be as XXXXXXX as he is,” thought Stan.
Joe and Stan arrived at the party at 7 o’clock. By 9:30, the evening seemed to drag for Stan. But Joe really seemed to be having a good time at the party. “I wish I could be as gregarious as he is,” thought Stan.
General Contexts that enable inferring of meaning
• Murderers are usually incarcerated for longer
periods of time than robbers.
• Ben is fearless, but his brother is timorous.
• Dad gave credence to my story, but Mom’s reaction
was one of total disbelief
• When we invite the Paulsons for dinner, they never
Annual Social Thinking Global Providers’ Conference
June 23, 2017
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SERP Word Generation Program
• Program to teach academic vocabulary language,
discussion, argumentation, and thinking skills to students
in 4th-8th grades
• Words are taught in multiple contexts over 5-10 lessons
• Available free: http://wordgen.serpmedia.org
Teach Vocabulary in Thematic groups Most Common Prefixes: Grades 3-4
un- pre-
re- inter-
in-, im-, ir, il-(not) fore-
dis- de-
en-, em- trans-
non- super-
in-, im- (in or into) semi-
over-(too much) anti-
mis- mid-
sub- under-
Teaching Suffixes
-er definitions and examples
“more”
(comparative adjective)
“one who”
(noun)
“that which”
(noun)
stronger
thicker
softer
teacher
traveler
pitcher
toaster
washer
hanger
Ebbers, S.M. (2011). Vocabulary through morphemes: Suffixes, prefixes,
and roots for intermediate grades. Longmont, CO: Sopris West.
-ly definitions and examples
“In a manner that
is” (adverb)
“Like a (noun)”
(adjective)
Time-related
adverbs
Time-related
adjectives
kindly (“in a
manner that is
kind”)
speaks kindly
sisterly (“like a
sister”)
a sisterly hug
suddenly
suddenly faints
daily (once a
day) daily
vitamins
quietly
firmly
sweetly
courageously
friendly
kingly
motherly
beggerly
periodically
instantly
eternally
constantly
weekly
monthly
annually
Ebbers, S.M. (2011). Vocabulary through morphemes: Suffixes, prefixes, and
roots for intermediate grades. Longmont, CO: Sopris West.
Morphology Grades 5-6• Greek and Latin word roots
– Most common Greek roots: tela (far, distant); therm(heat); photo (light)
– Move to Latin roots with aim to gain understanding of a few frequently occurring roots: tract (drag, pull); spect (look); spect (look); port (carry), dict (say), rupt(to break); scrib (to write)
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June 23, 2017
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“I have a picture of this scene in my head and this
is what it looks like....”
Teacher thinks through more difficult parts of the text and
Think Aloud
Outside the storm grew worse. Still shaking, Ben picked up the receiver and held it to his good ear. He hesitated then
dialed the number. He slid the bookmark between the pages of the book.
Describes the pictures you form in
your head about the information.
Think Aloud
The description on the wolf exhibit at the museum says the scene is at the margin of Gunflint Lake, MN. I remember at the beginning of this book that Ben is from there. Had the person who created this exhibit been at Gunflint Lake. Maybe it was the Daniel that Ben is looking for.
Make connections explicit: Show how to link prior
information stated in the text to new information in
text. “I remember about....and now….”
Demonstrate fix-up strategies: Show how to make sense of the passage. “I’d better reread.” or “I’ll read ahead and see if I can get some more information.”
Think Aloud
After you complete reading and Think Aloud, encourage students to add their own thoughts to yours.
Questioning the Author• Addresses text as product of fallible author
• Some types of queries
– What is the author trying to say here? What is the author
talking about?
• I know that’s what the author said, but what did the author
mean?
– What do you think the author wants us to know?
– Does this make sense with what the author told us before?
– How does this connect to what the author told us earlier?
– Why do you think the author tells us this now?
– How does the author let us know something has changed?
Beck, I.L., McKeown, M.G. (2006). Improving comprehension with questioning the author. New York:
Scholastic.
Reciprocal Teaching
• Prediction
• Questioning
• Clarification
• Summarization
Palincsar, A.S., & Brown, A.L. (1984). Reciprocal teaching of
comprehension-fostering and comprehension-monitoring
activities. Cognition and Instruction, 1, 117-175.
